3 Steps to combat S.A.D.

Shorter days mean longer nights, and for some of us the workday steals our only chance to see the sun. Darkness creeps in, and then cold weather swirls with it, freezing your motivation and turning you into a recluse.

You’re not quite depressed, but you’re not exactly your old self. You’ve got a case of the winter blues, gloomy like the weather. Some people call this Seasonal Affective Disorder, appropriately shortened to S.A.D.

You may think there’s no way to get through S.A.D. other than wait it out and pray that the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow in February. But there’s no reason you can’t be happy and your usual sunny self just because the weather isn’t cooperating.
You just have to take your happiness into your own hands.

Step 1: Decide to be happy no matter what.

Tell yourself you won’t let the weather, your boss, traffic, finances, or obligations affect your state of mind anymore. Sign the happiness decision provided by the Happiness Club and make your decision official with a contract.

Step 2: Add happiness activities to your daily routine.

Keeping a sunny state of mind during the winter months means exercising your happiness muscles. Each day, either in the morning while you have your coffee or at night before you go to sleep, write what you appreciate in a gratitude journal, never saying the same thing twice. By focusing on the good things in life, the darkness won’t seem as immense.

Step 3: Practice random acts of kindness.

Tell someone they have a nice smile. Open the door for someone. Smile at a stranger on the street. Wave to the mailman or your neighbor. Pick up some trash on the ground. Do 5 things, even small things, every day that make someone else’s life better.

Is The Stock Market Bringing You Down?

Maybe this will help...

"Going through the happiness makeover has brought me enlightenment and re-introduced me to my higher-self. "

I found Aymee during an extremely tumultuous time through a friend who had watched me languish and suffer for months.

Going through the happiness makeover has brought me enlightenment and re-introduced me to my higher-self. I am still on the journey, yet I would like to share what Aymee has done for me.

Through our sessions, Aymee identified and named a psychological habit that had been hindering me for over 2 decades. Taking me though several exercises, and walking me through tearful phone calls, I am now able to instantly identify this demon and convert it to positive action. Finally, an answer after living with terrible self-criticism for years.

We all experience many trials in life, but I have learned from Aymee that we can still living in each moment, and in each moment there is beauty and life and something to be grateful for, no matter how dire the circumstance may seem.

Aymee is intuitive, kind and generous, a powerful healer, and very determined to assist others in their pursuit of happiness. On thing I know for sure, the world is a better place because of her. There is a ripple effect to having coaching with Aymee. I hope to be able to “pay it forward” because she has truly helped me become happier and a better person.

T. Ryan
Financial Services Industry

Is Sustainable Happiness in our Spirit?

Many people have looked for happiness in foreign material objects.

Many have looked for happiness in different areas of the globe.

Many people have looked for happiness in psychological medication.

Many people have looked for happiness in their mind or in their brain.

Since 1996, I have been studying, learning, developing and teaching sustainable happiness and I have come to understand that it very well may be impossible to find and develop sustainable happiness in your mind and brain. It turns out that we can not ‘think’ ourselves to feeling this deep internal contentment.

Our brain functions our emotional center of our human experience yet the nature of emotions come and go no matter what we do. They are temporary and transient.

This type of happiness, hedonic happiness, is evoked by external circumstances basically entirely out of our control.

Most of us live primarily in an experience dictated by our left brain which is an experience dictated by limitation, fear, criticism, striving, pragmatics, and doing.

What if I said, well,

“We are human beings.

We are not human thinkings or human doings.”

We cannot “think” our way to sustainable happiness.

We have to create happiness from the inside out. This type of happiness that is sustainable, Eudaimonic happiness, is in our control! It is based on being your authentic self, knowing and using your strengths, knowing your purpose and feeling a sense of meaning and fulfillment in your life. This inner contentment will be with you independent of people, place, things and circumstances.

It is very unusual to find someone who has achieved those heart and soul connected experiences. It is through listening to our heart and soul that we find the answers to the treasure of our sustainable happiness.

Would you like to learn how to develop this deep inner contentment that provides you with that heart centered warm fuzzy feeling that presents the greatest experience known to man? A true unwavering deeply ingrained feeling of complete and utter faith that you are a happy person no longer looking for what you are longing for. You are just being a happy person.

Get a Happiness Makeover™

www.makemehappytv.com

"If you've ever given a thought to attaining a life overflowing with happiness, you need to speak with Aymee Coget."

If you've ever given a thought to attaining a life overflowing with happiness, you need to speak with Aymee Coget. In my own experience, insights gained from traditional psychology methods were beneficial, but certainly didn't take me all the way. Cut to working with Aymee, early 2008. Through the use of sustainable happiness techniques, powerful tools for strengthening the power of presence, and Reiki healing, Aymee helped me bridge the gap from where I was to where I longed to be. Today, a life of abundance, excitement, peace and meaningful accomplishment is unfolding before me. If you're looking for an approach to internal health and wellness that's a step up from the average counselor, therapist, or health professional, look to Aymee. Healing your life and living happily ever after may end up being a part of your story, too.

Paul
Screenwriter
San Francisco, CA

"I have you to thank for helping me achieve this inner happiness"

Latest Testimonial

I want to sincerely THANK YOU for your assistance in helping me find my true happiness again. Meeting with you once a week helped me to not only solidify the fundamental things I need in my life for happiness, such as meaning and purpose and authenticity, but also helped me circle back to the simple things that we all need to remember like “I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!” Your wisdom on this subject is clear, your conviction is great and it shows in the curriculum you teach.

Every morning I tell myself “I am happy” and I consistently remember to find five new things that I am grateful for daily. The “random acts of kindness” exercise will always stick with me because I believe what you put out you get back. Having this belief at my core was something that was bolstered by taking your class, and I appreciate your efforts in making this a fundamental teaching.

Finally, practicing positive language techniques, believing in the “best self” and simple happiness techniques that you impart on your students has helped to make my life more enriched and it shows in my relationships with others. And, I have you to thank for helping me achieve this inner happiness.

Aymee, thank you for what you do and I wish you all my best!

~ Anonymous

"I would recommend Aymee's Happiness Makeover to the world!"

In January, I started Aymee Coget’s 3 month sustainable happiness makeover. What I feel was most significant was that I learned how to cultivate sustainable happiness....meaning, it is nature and the human condition to go in and out of balance. To perhaps experience trouble, obstacles, etc....and negative emotions are part of that process. But I learned through my happiness training how I can choose to respond authentically to what occurs in life rather than react. I don't have to be consumed by negative patterns. I can change them. Therefore, I learned how to think, feel and act differently so I can sustain my happiness and well being no matter what happens. I am very grateful I had the opportunity to do the work with Aymee and I recommend it to the world.

Rebecca Roman

FeldenKrais Instructor/ Yoga Teacher

http://www.rebasflow.com/

3 Steps in 3 Minutes for Ultimate Relaxation

Close your eyes and go to the beach!

Spring break is here, and while some of us are partying it up at exotic destinations, the rest of us are working like dogs.

What we can do in the face of the looming tasks is take a few moments every day for some hard-earned relaxation and reflection.

Maybe you want to go to that favorite destination that brings you peace, tranquility, harmony, vitality, health and overall peace of mind.

It turns out that no one except us can give us that time and energy it takes to make the decision to just stop for a minute.

Yes. One minute. Make it three if you really can…

Take a moment to make your brain become a stop light. Nominate a certain time of day or a certain song on the radio or a monument you see every day to just stop what you are doing, close your eyes and see yourself in that special place. Then feel in your body what it would feel like. Cultivate that feeling and visualize it spreading through your body down your arms to your hands and down your legs to your feet so your entire body feels that tranquility, that peace of mind.

We can take a vacation at any moment, all we have to do is make the decision to do it!

You can start right now. Commemorate the moment you decided to take your relaxation seriously for the first time!


Step 1: Find your REMINDER
Nominate a method of how you are going to remind and inspire yourself to go to your special destination.


Step 2: VISUALIZE your Tranquil Destination
Close your eyes and picture yourself there with as much detail as you can…


Step 3: EMOTIONALIZE
Feel what it is like to be there be there for between 1-3 minutes approximately every hour you are awake.


And watch and see your results!

Happiness Makeover Endorsement - Latest Testimonial

The Happiness Makeover is a joyful process with real results. I truly feel more in control of my life, my emotions, and my sense of gratitude as a direct result of working over the phone for one hour, once a week, for 3 months. I'm amazed and thrilled. I didn't think the Makeover was going to have such a positive effect. My increased happiness and sense of well being has spilled into all areas of my life and other people notice and comment that I'm brighter, more present, and more proactive in general.

As I said, I'm amazed and thrilled.

I recommended the Happiness Makeover to my family, and I feel comfortable recommending The Happiness Makeover to anyone who's interested. You have to try the Makeover to know how happy you can really be. I took the chance, and I know from my heart's core that it worked amazingly well for me.

Thank you Aymee, you changed my life!

--
Brian B. Jones

MBA Candidate 2009
Leeds School of Business
University Colorado Boulder

Latest Testimonial for the 90 day Happiness Makeover

I had come to a point in my life where I had a to face up to the fact that I wasn't really a consistently happy person. I had done a lot of workshops and read books, and though I was improving somewhat, I still carried around a lot of negativity. I signed up for Aymee's 3 month coaching and really got my money's worth. At first it seemed like nothing was happening, but by the end I was having really great days and knew how to get myself out of a funk quickly. She is excellent at what she does and very passionate about her work. I feel there has been a huge a shift in my day to day outlook in the positive direction. The time I spend in negative emotions, like sadness and anger, has been reduced to practically nothing. Friends notice my upbeat attitude. It has even helped me improve my relationship with my parents. I am a much happier person and recommend the coaching to anyone. Now a graduate, the happiness continues to climb as my life gets better and better.

Yurik Riegel

Fine Artist/Coach

San Francisco, CA

How to Make Your Wishes Come True

If you type, "how to make my dreams come true" in a Google search, you will receive almost FIVE MILLION results!

While the answer might be different in each result, the message is the same: there is a way to make your dreams come true. But how?
Well, you can grant your own wishes. By taking three fairly obvious and very simple steps, you can have the life you’ve dreamt about.

Step 1: Be happy no matter what.

If you believe that you’re never going to get a better job or a nicer home or a happier marriage, you won’t. If you focus on how bad you feel about your lot in life, you won’t be happy. You won’t see the possibilities that are in front of you. You won’t hear opportunity knocking if you’re too busy listening to sulking. Decide to be happy no matter what life has given you or sends your way.

Step 2: Have a vision for your dreams

Once you are committed to being happy, your brain will start believing that good things can happen. You will start seeing where you want to be, and how it is possible to have your wishes come true. You will have a clear picture of what you want, and you will have something concrete to go after. Part of making your wishes come true is knowing what you wish for.
If you’re struggling to create a clear vision of what you want in life, try using the Social Construction of Reality theory. This concept, created by Berger and Luckman in 1966, suggests that our entire human experience is shaped by seven categories of existence.

• Socialization (the people around us)
• Institutions (the organizations we associate with)
• Language (the type of speech we use)
• Knowledge (the things we know)
• Habits (the things we regularly do)
• Reification (the objects we surround ourselves with)
• Legitimation (the principles we use to validate ourselves)

You can create a vision for your dreams by answering questions that help you evaluate these essential areas of your life. Ask yourself:

• Who am I socializing with when my wishes become reality?
• What institutions am I a part of when my dreams have come true?
• What is the language I am using? What words and sentences am I saying when my dreams have come true?
• What is the knowledge I have when I have achieved my dreams?
• What habits am I employing when my dreams have come true?
• What are the "things" around me when my dreams come true?
• How do I really know to trust that this is my dream and that it is coming true?
Once you are able to answer those questions, you will have a roadmap of how to grant your own wishes and can move on to step 3.

Step 3: Bring your vision to the present.

After you’ve got a clear vision of what you want to do, be, see, feel, have, put your energy toward bringing it to the present. If you want to find Prince Charming, open your eyes and start looking for him in this moment. If you want to go back to school, get the admissions materials right now. Start turning your wish from something in your mind to something you can grasp.
You are your own genie in the bottle, your own fairy godmother. You know what you want and you are in control of making your wishes come true.

Latest Testimonial- Jump on Aymee's Happiness Bandwagon!

Jump on Aymee's happiness bandwagon! After training with her that's what I would definitely recommend! She gave me a new lease on life, she uses an array of amazing techniques that will get you there too, and put a smile on your face. If 'never a dull moment' is what you are aspiring to, don't wait!

Philippe Ney, Screen Writer
Los Angeles

MAKE ME HAPPY STORE!

Visit our store http://www.cafepress.com/make_me_happy and shop till you drop! Please pass this along to your social network, we are targeting those who would want to have a say about what goes on TV (family programming) and those who want to see the world a happier place.

Thank you for your support

The Power of Feeling Beautiful

“Beauty is power; a smile is its sword.”
-- John Ray (English naturalist and botanist, 1627-1705)


Beauty and power. These are two words that are not discussed explicitly in our society but that still define it more than anything else. Think of any magazine cover, any runway show, any television commercial. We are conditioned to believe that beauty is something to aspire to and power is its great reward. In reality, though, falling for society’s beauty mandate may actually be robbing you of the power you already have.

We are not born with this idea of being powerful, nor are we born with the sense of feeling beautiful. Power and beauty are concepts we learn, and as much as we give attention to where we are lacking in them, we should also give attention to where we are excelling in them. We have to cultivate our power and our sense of beauty, but we can only do so if we give ourselves permission to love who we are.

We all know beauty is on the inside, but what does that mean? Beauty consists of happiness, confidence, kindness, love, compassion, gratitude, optimism, good health, self-esteem, self-respect, and self care. All of these characteristics lead to personal power and allow you to feel good, vital and full of zest.

For a minute, close your eyes and concentrate on how kind you are, how much love you share, the compassion you feel for others. Acknowledge your good health, your positive attitude, your willingness to share a smile. Honoring those aspects of beauty within you will help you realize your beautiful impact on the rest of the world.

Feeling beautiful starts with a decision to be beautiful, no matter how you look.

Empower yourself! Go to the mirror right now, look deeply into your eyes and put your hand on your heart. When you can feel your heartbeat, tell yourself how truly beautiful you look right now and how beautiful you have always been and always will be. Let yourself really feel that sense of beauty inside.

Then, go outside and use your power for good.

More info on how to make your body happy!

http://www.livevideo.com/video/F0AF0B355815483A91052FCA03FC1BFF/detox-cleanse-weight-loss-diet.aspx

3 Secrets for Aspirational Acceptance

One of the most basic human needs is companionship. We are people people, social creatures, and we need to feel accepted by others. The same desire that left you with baited breath during elementary school kick ball, when captains were picking teams, is still with you as an adult. It is a deep part of your psyche, and something that will be with you forever. But having the desire to belong doesn’t necessarily get you acceptance.

The only prerequisite to a sense of belonging is accepting yourself entirely. If we don’t accept ourselves, we won’t be able to recognize what it feels like to be accepted by others. Find out if you are accepting yourself with these evaluations.


1. Assess negative self-talk.

Pay attention to what you say to yourself when you make a mistake. Watch your tone of the voice. Is it condescending? Do you say things like:
• "How many times do you have to make that mistake?"
• "You are so stupid!"
• "You can’t do anything right!"
A lot of us share a tendency to be hard on ourselves in this way, but we all have the ability to get a handle on this inner critic and find self-acceptance.


2. Keep a positive self-talk journal.

To convert your harsh inner critic into something positive, try keeping a positive self-talk journal. Invest in a small spiral notebook bound at the side, and any time you have a negative thought about yourself, write it down on the left hand page. The left side is dedicated to the inner critic.
Then convert what the inner critic says into the opposite and write it down on the right hand page. This positive inner voice is what I call the inner colleague.

Keeping a positive self-talk journal requires persistence, diligence and commitment. Bring that memo pad everywhere you go and convert negative thoughts as they arise. Immediately, on the spot, write it down and convert it right there.


3. Every night, review what your inner colleague had to say.

At the end of the day, read through the right hand side of your notebook. Listen to your inner colleague and her affirmations in your mind as you drift off to sleep and let your subconscious build her presence.
If you diligently study your inner monologue for three months, your inner critic will disappear and be replaced with your inner colleague. You will feel love, respect and appreciation for yourself, and that will allow others to feel love, respect and appreciation for you. Acceptance starts with you.

latest testimonial....

I really enjoyed doing Happiness Coaching with Aymee and I learned a lot from her and about myself. I really like her well rounded approach of body, mind and soul and she has a lot of happiness tools that really work. I love the Reiki. While I have not reached Aymee’s happiness level I bounce back much quicker from setbacks that I did before I started coaching with Aymee and I am very happy with my results. Happiness is a choice but not always an easy one, but making the choice gets easier with practice.

Aymee is the happiness expert! She truly embodies Happiness.

Ann

What is a Happiness Makeover?

What is a Mind-Body-Spirit Happiness Makeover?

GOAL: To heal the past wounds and programming that lead to unhappiness and build an understanding of how to be happy no matter what. In other words to get the client to a "10" in wellness with mind, body and spirit and understand how they can sustain that feeling of being a "10" forever. The client will learn how to sustain their own happiness for the rest of their life, their happiness is no longer dependent on people, places, things, circumstances or their genetic predisposition for happiness.

TIME REQUIREMENT: 3 months, 1 hour/week, or anytime with a happiness challenge

The length of a MBS happiness makeover is three months. Every week for one hour the client will meet with Aymee for a formal coaching session. Yet calls in between the one week meetings are encouraged for times when the client is experiencing a happiness challenge. (A happiness challenge is a person, place, think, or circumstance that aims to create unhappiness for the client) Aymee accepts calls twenty four hours a day seven days a week for these happiness challenges.

FORMAT: Mind, Body, Spirit

Every other week Aymee will alternate between focusing on the mind and the spirit. Throughout the three months, the client agrees to terms about making their body happier which will be explained later.

MIND –POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY & OTHER WISDOM FROM SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS EXPERTS

Training the mind is the focus during the coaching sessions. Aymee identifies the client's beliefs and thoughts that are leading them to be unhappy. Then Aymee uses scientifically proven techniques with the client to improve their happiness. She helps them develop a solid foundation to uphold their happiness no matter what person, place, thing or circumstance. She also teaches her clients different tools they can implement in order to deal with the every day happiness challenges. Aymee's focus during these sessions is to create a sense of Eudaimonic happiness through developing each clients understanding of their authenticity, strengths, meaning in life and sense of purpose.

BODY – NUTRITIONAL CLEANSING & EXERCISE

The client agrees to enter into a 90 day nutritional cleanse. This molecular cleanse cleans the body of toxicity on a molecular level and replenishes the body with what it requires for optimal functioning. Through this process the body's brain chemistry comes into balance. Depending on the need of the client, the program can be geared toward losing weight in addition to the releasing of toxins, optimal nourishment, and brain chemistry balance. The product line of ISAGENIX is used to achieve the goals of the body element to the program. The client agrees to perform at least 20 minutes of exercise on a daily basis.

SPIRIT – REIKI HEALINGS & REIKI ATTUNEMENTS

The client agrees to learn reiki as a self-healing system. Reiki is a form of spiritual healing and spiritual practice proposed for the treatment of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual diseases. Mikao Usui developed Reiki in early 20th century Japan, where he claimed to receive the ability of 'healing without energy depletion' after three weeks of fasting and meditating on Mount Kurama. Practitioners use a technique similar to the laying on of hands, in which they claim to be channels for energy ("Ki") guided by a universal spirit or spiritual nature ("Rei") — flowing through their palms to heal a person wherever they may need healing. The client will receive three reiki attunements where the client will enter 3 21-day energetic cleansing periods where the chakas of the system will be cleansed and as a result the client's self-awareness will increase and past traumas are healed.

Three steps to YOUR "Best Year Ever!"

Imagine you are waking up with a smile on your face feeling fresh and excited to start the day! The smell in the air is like a fresh meadow and the temperature outside is perfect. You say to yourself "Today is the happiest day of my life!" and then you jump up with your fist in the air and exclaim, "I AM HAPPY!" Then you are so exhilarated by your dreams of what gifts today may bring, you do it again, because it feels so good… You jump up with your fist exerting in the air toward the ceiling and you exclaim, "I AAAMMMM HHHHHHHAAAAAPPPPYYY!!!!!!"

WOW!

That feeling is possible! You absolutely can have that as the beginning of your day if you choose it. The only thing keeping you from what I just explained above if your decision to actually say to yourself "Today is the happiest day of my life." Everyday and it is your decision to jump up with your hand in the air exclaiming, "I AM HAPPY!"

Now it may seem weird and way to simple just to do this for your happiness. The happiness deep in your soul likes it simple in fact. I have studied sustainable happiness from a variety of worldly people and science so these happiness exercises are credible. Plus I have a thriving coaching practice in San Francisco where I teach sustainable happiness. For those skeptics, I am going to have to ask you, "Don't knock it till you try it." More than likely you are not happy anyway.

One of my mentors, Robert Mueller, PhD, < http://www.robertmuller.org/ > (Former Assistant Secretary General of the UN, Nobel Peace Prize nominee nineteen times) told me that he felt that happiness saved his life in a Nazi Death camp because he said to himself "Today is the happiest day of my life." Just by setting the intention that today is in fact the happiest day of your life it very well could be!

The "I AM HAPPY!" exercise came from my mentorship with a Swami named Jinendra < http://jinendra.org/ > who's job title is Messenger of Sustainable Happiness. Jinendra's focus in sustainable happiness is on the physiological effect so when you jump up with your fist in the air saying "I am Happy!" then you will feel a very "happy" sensation in your body thus preparing you to experience a deep happiness that day. Also creating this level of zest is supported by the positive psychology movement because they say that zest as a strength is highly related with happiness.

Stop thinking happiness is out there in a person, place, thing or circumstance and start taking responsibility for your happiness and you will therefore in deed have the best year ever!

First we need to achieve happiness in ourselves and then the best year ever can be our experience. In 2005, a study from the University of California in Davis compiled all of the empirically demonstrated benefits of what a happiness experiences in life: more money, deeper love, greater success, optimal health, and greater sense of fulfillment. Achievement of happiness in your life consistently is what brings all of the things that you think comprise your best year ever.

So when you are inspired for to create your new years resolutions, allow yourself to choose happiness < http://happinessclub.com/pages/decision.html > in every moment and watch all of the benefits follow. Thanks to the happiness club who supplies a certificate for us to sign to actually make that decision to take responsibility for your happiness.

It starts with three steps every morning:

1) Choose happiness

2) Say to yourself, "Today is the happiest day of my life."

3) Zestfully jump up and exert your fist in the air exclaiming "IIII AAMMM HHHAAAPPPYY!"